By: Brandon Taylor, Assistant Sports Information Director
LA MIRADA, Calif. ---
THIS WEEK: vs
Concordia (8-13, 7-9 PacWest) - Tuesday Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m.; at
Fresno Pacific (15-8, 11-6 PacWest) - Thursday Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
MULTIMEDIA: Links for away game live stats and live video are available in the game previews below.
BIOLA (9-12, 7-8 PacWest) vs CONCORDIA (8-13, 7-9 PacWest): Tuesday Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
After warming up a bit by collecting three wins in a four-game span from January 15 to January 24, the Concordia Eagles have gone cold again of late with three losses in four games since January 29. Concordia has been a team prone to hot and cold streaks all year, with a three-game losing streak followed by a three-game winning streak on their ledger during the month of December. Biola handed CUI's its second loss in that three-game downer on December 8 when Head Coach Alan Nakamura's team squeaked a 68-67 overtime victory after leading 24-14 headed into the second quarter. Sophomore Jazz Benn exploded for a career-high 25 points in that game and scored Biola's first six points in overtime to force Concordia to play catchup. But CUI actually had the final possession of the game and missed two open layups in the closing seconds that would have put Concordia up by one-point. Instead, Concordia now has to come to Biola having lost the last three meetings with the Nakamura's group. CUI is coming off a rough shooting game in a 50-45 loss to Notre Dame de Namur in which sophomore Kennedy Fulcher was the only one to really get the scoring going. Fulcher scored 25 points in the loss but Concordia's next highest scorer had 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting. That women was Mikayla VanderKlugt, who averages 16.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to ballast Concordia's offense.
BIOLA (9-12, 7-8 PacWest) at FRESNO PACIFIC (15-8, 11-6 PacWest): Thursday Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video ($6.95/game)
The Eagles will head to Fresno looking for revenge in a Valentine's Day clash with the Sunbirds after Fresno Pacific escaped Chase Gym with a 60-57 win. Biola limited the Sunbirds to just six field goals in the second half and shut them out for the first three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. But the eagles two three-point attempts to tie the game in the closing minutes both clanged off the iron as FPU clung to its road win. Since that meeting on January 26,Fresno Pacific has treaded water at 2-2 and has clinched its first-ever berth in the PacWest tournament. FPU is currently the five-seed and one game behind 12-5 Point Loma headed into the week. Bree Alvarez has been the Sunbirds' hottest scorer over that four-game span, scoring at least 14 points in those contests. But her scoring has come with high-volume shooting as Alvarez has shot 28.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc in those games. Alvarez went 5-of-16 from three-point range in the win against Biola and was FPU's third-leading scorer behind Ashley Cross and Jessica Malazarte.
FRESNO PACIFIC DOES NOT LIST TICKET INFORMATION ON ITS WEBSITE
LAST WEEK: Although the Eagles went 1-2 on their three-game trip through Hawaii, they were a very good second half team that averaged 41 points in the final 20 minutes in the three contests. Three women had 20-point games for Biola, including Tatum Brimley and Brenna Khaw, who both set new career highs while in Hawaii. Khaw helped the Eagles open the trip with a win by scoring 21 points against Chaminade on January 31 while Brimley dropped 22 points against Hawaii Hilo to conclude the road swing. The key for the Eagles' big scoring outputs and strong second half was a dangerous three-point shot, as both Brimley and Khaw drained five threes in their career-best efforts. Jazz Benn also joined the fun with six three-pointers during her 20-point second half against the Vulcans.
CONFERENCE TICKER: Over the past week, five spots in the PacWest tournament have been clinched and there is just one more up for grabs. Concordia is in the driver's seat for that sixth spot with a record of 7-9 (Hawaii Hilo is next in line with a PacWest record of 4-12). The seeding of the teams who have clinched is still to be determined with seven games left for each school in the conference schedule. Azusa Pacific, Dominican and Hawaii Pacific appear to have a lock on the top-three. But all three teams still have a legitimate shot at the No. 1 seed since they are all within one loss of each other.